Vietnam Protest Update

The protests in Vietnam are still going on, every sunday as a matter of fact. Even now, the people in Vietnam continue their display of national unity against the PRC. Paracel and Spratly are an integral part of Vietnam, something that the people will never let go without a fight. The Chinese government think they can move in on these islands easily, but they are sadly mistaken. The Vietnamese Communist Party may be afraid of the Chinese, but the people of Vietnam are not.

No one can tell how long these protests will go on for, either way, it is good for the country. It is rare for the government to let the people come together for a peaceful demonstration, and I judge them for not letting the people express themselves to the fullest extent. This patriotic display has the potential to spark some substantial change in Vietnam’s political landscape. Furthermore, this fledgling movement has the potential to change this uneven relationship between Vietnam and the People’s Republic of China. If the people of Vietnam were bred, nurtured, and utilized to build and defend the country, then this coming war with China may not be so inevitable after all.

The Communist Party in Vietnam are worried that if they were to utilize the strength of the Vietnamese people, it will ultimately lead to the fall of their autocratic rule. That is one way of looking at it, but they should consider the positives. Exiting in a peaceful and progressive manner would greatly reduce the amount of bloodshed that would surely come from a violent revolution. There are numerous scenarios of how the Communists could fall in the near future, and doing so with the modest support, or at least the sympathy of the Vietnamese population is much better than being ripped to shreds by a revolutionary force that has lost all sense of emotion and mercy for this tired and spineless regime.

Vietnam’s Communist government is riddled with problems, both politically and economically. The deplorable human rights record, double-digit inflation that is only getting worse, intimidation and aggression by the Chinese military, and discontent among the population back home. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and any of these can act as a catalyst that sparks the eventual collapse of the Vietnamese Communist Party. This is the situation and the Communist Party are presented a choice. Either they get dragged out kicking and screaming by a bloody revolution (or worse yet, a Chinese invasion), or go respectfully (and I use that term loosely) and let the people decide peacefully. It will take a tremendous amount of courage for them to do the right thing, but in the end it will save their lives. They should think about that.

3 Responses to “Vietnam Protest Update”

“Exiting in a peaceful and progressive manner would greatly reduce the amount of bloodshed that would surely come from a violent revolution?” Oh, is that all? Sorry, I guess you never heard of Tiananmen Square where Chinese leaders ordered troops to mow pro-democracy demonstrators! Or Syria doing the same to their people!

Karl von Clausewitz observed in his book , ON WAR, ” Kindhearted people might think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat an enemy without too much bloodshed…pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed…”

Freedom from tyrants isn’t ultimately won with sit-down strikes or thoughtful words; it’s won with sweat, blood and bullets. As we seen in countries experiencing unrest in the MIiddle East, those wanting freedom can’t get it by simply marching. They end up in jail; passive resistance like that only works IF governmental leaders are basically moral people to start with. You think the Communist Party of Vietnam are moral people to start with!? Not a chance, look what happen after 1975 in Vietnam when they throw people who collaborated with South Vietnam in those “reeducation camps.” Most of them didn’t survive. Communist Laos is still hunting down Hmong people as payback for being allies to the Americans.

So, I guess you misunderstood what I’m saying here in this article. When I say that they should leave in a peaceful manner, I’m saying that they should do so while they still can, BEFORE they get overthrown by an inevitable revolution that will surely come. It’s obvious that peaceful demonstrations alone are not going to make the Communists leave. What it will do however is raise awareness, sway public opinion, and ultimately lead to a bloody revolution when the movement gets strong enough. If peaceful protests were as useless as you say they are, then why are the Communists TERRIFIED of any type of public gathering?

In making the statement, I am saying that the Communists still have the option to do some good for the country, the same way Mikhail Gorbachev did for the Soviet Union. Don’t say that peaceful protests never helped with anything. You mentioned the middle east, but I guess YOU never heard of Egypt, Tunisia, or Libya. How do you think these revolutions were sparked? By NOT protesting? By NOT marching? I’ve already explained why the Communist Party’s hold on power is starting to weaken, and that is why I’ve presented the two options they have.

Please understand that I am not naive enough to say that the Communists are gracious enough to leave on their own. I am saying that the Communists should do something smart and constructive, like Gorbachev and Yeltsin, before the day comes when they no longer have the means to suppress the people anymore, and when the people take the power by their own arms. Because when that happens, it will be too late.

One more thing. If you understand the magnitude of what happened at Tiananmen Square, you would know that the movement nearly toppled the Communist Party of China. It is true that they sent in the army to crush the demonstrators, but not before some prominent leaders of the CCP, who were moved by the passion of the people, were purged by Deng Xiaoping. That protest could have gone either way, it is just unfortunate that the Communist won. Forgive me if I am crass, I just hope you get my point now.

I almost forgot, have you ever heard of the Jasmine Revolutions? It’s what they’re using to describe the nature of the revolutions in the middle east, which are more often than not sparked by peaceful demonstrations.

Yeah, sorry about that. It’s just fustrating that the Communists in Vietnam doesn’t give a damn about it’s people. All they care about is their power and their “Party”. They’ll do just ANYTHING to hold on i.e. giving up land (border pact with China is questionable) or kill anyone who poses as a threat.

Speaking of that, there were some thoughts on the Vietnam War. Didn’t Hanoi sent the Vietcong to die in the Tet Offensive so they don’t have to share power with them when they take over South Vietnam? Also, about Ho Chi Minh. Your article ” Ho Chi Minh: The Man Who Deceived the World” was questionable so I did some research. This is from a website called G2mil:

“American OSS officers helped supply Vietminh guerillas to fight Japanese occupiers late in WW II. Ho Chi Minh admired the USA, our struggle for independence, and our constitution. (Pictured with a beard among American advisors in 1945.) He spoke excellent French, having lived in Paris for 30 years and fought for the French during WW I. He assumed the USA would support his dream of independence after World War II. His Vietminh controlled most of the nation by the end of 1945 since the French fled when Japan invaded…the massive post-war American arms shipments allowed the Vietminh to build a formable army. Why was this done? A strong, independent, American allied Vietnam could help contain Mao’s communist movement”.

You can confirm this by going to google and type “g2mil Ho Chi Minh” (It’s a blog and use ctrl+f and type “Ho Chi Minh”)

Ho Chi Minh was NOT a communist to begin with in the first place. After WW2, he sought IN VAIN to get the U.S. to support independence for Vietnam. Unforunately, he was turned down. That’s when he ask for the Soviets to help him out which was the BIGGEST MISTAKE! He became indoctrinated in Communism (kind of explains that brutal land reform program in North Vietnam).

Had FDR lived he would have insisted on Vietnamese unity and independence in 1945 at the end of WW2; Vietnam would have been a socialist, anti-communist Yugoslavia in the far east. However FDR died (or was murdered) and Truman caved into French demands to recolonize Vietnam in return for their quasi-NATO membership in Europe to stand against the Soviet Russians. France was too militarily weak to keep Vietnam so they should have instead accepted their independence and less lucrative oil and rubber profits–instead of no profits.

If the U.S. had support Vietnam’s independence after WW2, Vietnam would’ve been spared of the death and destruction of the Indochina wars (against France, U.S., Cambodia, and China). Vietnam would still have control of the Paracel and Spratly Islands by now.